Wrestlemania 39

[Supremo]

Those, “Cody needs to struggle,” takes were amazing.

Yeah, this guy needs to go through something difficult. Long overdue a challenge, this fella.

[Arch Stanton]

Why do we keep bringing the opinions of Twitter idiots into the discussions on here? Debate them on Twitter if you want, but good luck to you, because it's a fucking nightmare on there. I like to think we're a bit better than that here.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I’ve thought about this more than is healthy, and I still can’t budge an inch from “absolutely fucking crackers”.

Those people saying it’s for the best or ‘trust the plan’ might well be acting in good faith, but I’m convinced they’re just Drew or Sami fans enjoying getting their own back.

But this time it really does feel like they’ve properly fucked it without a plan, process or any concept of what’s for the best.

[LaGoosh]

Perhaps the longer term plan is to transition Roman from heel to babyface and keep the title on him as the top good guy?

[Devon Malcolm]

It's a real shame that the ending of this all has distracted away from the many good matches and things that happened over the weekend, including the actual Reigns vs Rhodes match itself, which was largely superb and delivered almost everything. Almost nobody's talking about Ripley vs Flair and the IC title triple threat, both of which were incredible matches. Amazing how quickly they can undo all that good faith.

[ElBigFella]

I reckon we can expect a rematch either at Summerslam or Mania 40. My theory is that they reckon the disappointment will elevate the reaction even further when Cody finally gets the win. This could either go on six months or a year depending on whether they can secure The Rock for next year.

If they can get The Rock, they're going to ideally want The Rock involved at Summerslam to begin the hype train (see Cena v Rock, Mania 28). In theory, the form that could take is that Zayn and KO chase off the Usos, then you have a mirror of what happened with Solo and then The Rock comes out to even the numbers, crowd goes mental, Cody gets the win and mainstream media will have a shot of Cody and The Rock, Roman defeated.

However.. if they can't get The Rock, I think you're looking at a 12 month story of Roman dodging Cody, Cody climbing ever higher hurdles until he finally, finally reaches Everest at Mania 40. Again, a big pay off if they can build it right.

Of course, all of this type of long-term thinking will go in the bin if Vince really is fully back in creative. That then really, really does waste the pay-off.

[Joe Blog]

1 hour ago, ElBigFella said:

Cody and The Rock,

Which is great for the mainstream attention but in reality it means that Rocky overshadows Cody’s crowning and leaves people wanting to see Rock/Roman as opposed to Cody’s first challenger.
 

I can’t wrap my head around this whole Roman/Rock thing, Roman does not need to beat Rocky, the narrative doesn’t fit. Maybe a younger rocky but let’s face it Dwayne is a hollywood star in his 50’s who struggled years ago against Cena of all people. A win over the Rock means little these days and let’s face it the publicity of Rock being beaten by Roman won’t make any difference to how many eyes are going to stay with the product. 
 

*plus Vince is a daft rapey old cunt and would probably put Rock over. 

Edited April 5, 2023 by Joe Blog

[CavemanLynn]

1 hour ago, ElBigFella said:

I reckon we can expect a rematch either at Summerslam or Mania 40. My theory is that they reckon the disappointment will elevate the reaction even further when Cody finally gets the win.

I think this is what they MIGHT be thinking, but rather than the euphoria of Cody finally winning, it'll be more a sense of relief at Cody FINALLY winning.

Any use of the Rock would further dilute the idea that Cody, the face, will have won on his own terms, which was one of the big positives and causes of his incredible momentum going into this year's Mania. Just a good guy who couldn't get the job done without a REAL star turning up.

[El Hijo del Mikey Jr]

Cody was supposed to job to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam. This isn't the start of a story, it's the delayed end to what they were always going to do.  If somebody thinks this is some step on an intended long-term arc, they can't have been paying attention to this promotion for the last 20 years.  They never stick the landing.  Move on, stop watching, starve them of the money and attention they require to continue.

[Fatty Facesitter]

7 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

It's a real shame that the ending of this all has distracted away from the many good matches and things that happened over the weekend, including the actual Reigns vs Rhodes match itself, which was largely superb and delivered almost everything. Almost nobody's talking about Ripley vs Flair and the IC title triple threat, both of which were incredible matches. Amazing how quickly they can undo all that good faith.

I'm brown-nosing at this point but this one of many spot-on takes from you on Mania weekend. So much good shit happened - I genuinely still believe that bell to bell it holds up against Wrestlemania 17 (which fittingly had its own mad finish in the main event!) - had Cody gone over I think it would have one of the most celebrated Wrestlemanias ever in terms of critical acclaim. In my opinion it still should be - perhaps in time and with hindsight it will be. But the perception around Roman winning and Vince returning to creative have killed the buzz and people aren't looking rationally at what could be considered one of the best combined events they've ever put on, certainly in recent memory. 

5 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

I think this is what they MIGHT be thinking, but rather than the euphoria of Cody finally winning, it'll be more a sense of relief at Cody FINALLY winning.

I've been thinking more deeply about the Cody business today. I still believe that - should he get the titles - he'll still get a monster pop. 

I've seen a lot of comments about people eventually getting sick of Cody when he does eventually get the belts and I can see the logic to a degree. But here's the thing - it happens to EVERY babyface at some point. Even someone like Stone Cold in 2001 could sense he was getting stale and decided to make the bold call to turn heel and switch things up - a mistake retrospectively but hindsight is a beautiful thing. In modern terms I suppose you could label it as the 'Cena effect' - company hand picks someone to be the top dog, crowd picks up on it, eventually grows sick of them. But that doesn't mean we should bin it off altogether - we all WANT to go on that journey with him. 

Cody wouldn't be immune from that, but there are several reasons why I don't think the crowds would immediately turn on him or be negative towards him in the Wrestlemania aftermath, or the aftermath of when he finally does get one or both of the straps - 

- In-Ring: One of the biggest criticisms of someone like John Cena has always been around his wrestling ability and his perceived lack of technical prowess. I love Big Match John myself and I think he's a great performer for many reasons, but the STF looks about as lethal as getting tickled. Cody is someone who has none of that aura attached to him - he can brawl, he can get technical, he can do the lot and he's already proven several times that he can deliver in a big match with big hype surrounding it. The credit he has in the bank from the torn pec hell in a cell match is still very much there too. 

- How he carries himself: Some will tease him and say he's a bit corny and carny at times, but I think people really resonate with him and how he's come across in all of his media appearances, whether its WWE in-house shite like The Bump, or when he's doing the media rounds with Ryan Satin and the like, or something like Sheamus' YouTube output - he always comes across as relatively genuine and quite authentic. You don't always get the impression you're watching a character piece for instance - you feel like you're getting something from Cody Runnels the chap rather than Cody Rhodes the character. He's also, I think, indirectly responsible for WWE copying AEW's style of doing the media scrums - he does them brilliantly and effortlessly. I think in this modern era where every cunt under the sun has a podcast, a YouTube channel or some form of content to push, he's such a good guest for all of that. That resonates with audiences. See exhibit B and C, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. 

- Roman: Here's the other key thing - Roman is the one being pushed as the GOAT of all GOATs in WWE and getting the monster push. Cody is in a somewhat unique position - he's getting pushed very heavily as the company's top babyface, but because Roman is effectively absorbing all of the hatred at the moment and people are getting sick of HIM being on top, Cody can ride the wave of support of people desperate to see some change. People will keep clamouring for him to win the belts for this reason and for the other reasons stated above. 

All of the above is purely subjective. But I'm still quite happy to ride aboard the RollerCodester and I can't wait for the massive outpouring of 'fuck yeah' when he wins the straps and he's crying at the tron which is displaying a massive, fuck off picture of Dusty, and he's trying to control Pharaoh, but he (?) is busy taking a massive shit in the middle of the ring, or pissing up against the turnbuckle. I'm on board for all of it. 

[The King Of Swing]

Doesn't matter what they are currently thinking when that old cunt Vince can and probably will rip up any plans at a moments notice. 

[air_raid]

Finally watched it.

I can’t believe they Lugered him. I’m done.

[Nick James]

9 hours ago, Fatty Facesitter said:

- How he carries himself: Some will tease him and say he's a bit corny and carny at times, but I think people really resonate with him and how he's come across in all of his media appearances, whether its WWE in-house shite like The Bump, or when he's doing the media rounds with Ryan Satin and the like, or something like Sheamus' YouTube output - he always comes across as relatively genuine and quite authentic. You don't always get the impression you're watching a character piece for instance - you feel like you're getting something from Cody Runnels the chap rather than Cody Rhodes the character. He's also, I think, indirectly responsible for WWE copying AEW's style of doing the media scrums - he does them brilliantly and effortlessly. I think in this modern era where every cunt under the sun has a podcast, a YouTube channel or some form of content to push, he's such a good guest for all of that. That resonates with audiences. See exhibit B and C, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. 

I think this is an excellent point and reminds me of the first time I heard an interview with Cody outside of a wrestling show. It was on Edge and Christians podcast and I was surprised at how much I came away from the interview thinking how much of a down to earth, nice guy Cody is. He speaks as though he is just a guy living his dream (no pun intended) and has a genuine fire about him. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/4/6/23672795/auschwitz-memorial-calls-wwe-shameless-image-used-dominik-mysterio-prison-wrestlemania-39-kickoff
 

Good grief.

[Keith Houchen]

1 hour ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/4/6/23672795/auschwitz-memorial-calls-wwe-shameless-image-used-dominik-mysterio-prison-wrestlemania-39-kickoff
 

Good grief.

Fucking hell, was JBL in the editing suite? That’s awful.